Modern warehousing operations typically include storage of cased articles carried on pallets in an orderly fashion upon rack structures rather than stacking one atop another on individual pallets on the floor. Gravity storage systems are popularly utilized in warehouse operations wherein pallets of articles are loaded from the rear of the storage rack and are fed by gravity to the front end of the storage rack whereupon operators may remove the articles and pallets causing the next adjacent pallet to come to the front. Examples of these type storage systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,900,112 and 3,785,502. In the prior systems, damage to the exposed ends of the flow rails by forklift operations and personal injury due to the sharp exposed edges of the flow rail are problems to which considerable attention need be given. Attempts to cover the edges of the front ends of the flow rails have resulted in creation of sharp edges on which a pallet may be easily hung when moved during removal.
Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide an improved storage rack structure being of high structural integrity which minimizes damage to and injury from the flow rails.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a storage rack structure which reduces the amount of height lost between vertically spaced flow rail racks due to structural mounting.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved storage rack structure in which the rollers of the flow rails are protected both during the loading and unloading of pallets of articles.